Newcastle's preparations for the new
season suffered a blow as they went down to a 4-1 defeat against npower
Championship side Cardiff.

The
Magpies conceded three goals in the space of 10 minutes in the first
half and, despite a better showing in the second half, could only reduce
the deficit by one goal through Shola Ameobi's 49th-minute penalty
before Etien Velikonja restored Cardiff's three-goal cushion.

Aron
Gunnarsson opened the scoring for the home side in the 16th minute with
a fine volley, Joe Ralls doubled the lead four minutes later and
Gunnarsson was on the scoresheet again, turning home a low cross after
26 minutes.

It was a wake-up call for Alan Pardew's men, who have been in impressive form so far this pre-season, but clearly have work to do ahead of their first Premier League fixture against Tottenham in a week's time.

Wake up call: Newcastle boss Alan Pardew was given something to think about

Pardew had elected to leave several of his biggest stars at home, including Papiss Cisse, Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye and Demba Ba, but he would still have expected more from his side.

Newcastle's 17 year-old debutant Adam Campbell looked a good prospect, but other than that there was little to cheer.

Seeing red: Cardiff played in their new red shirts

Cardiff's Olympic star Craig Bellamy watched his colleagues admiringly from the stands, while the Bluebirds' Kim Bo-kjun was on duty for South Korea in the bronze medal match.

If Cardiff's red shirts hadn't already served as a warning to Newcastle, then this result surely will.